Rhode Island physician Adam Levine along with his team published a research that will help doctors in determining a patient's risk of having the disease until lab results are present.

The research was based on their experience of setting up and running an Ebola clinic in Africa last year. He developed a diagnostic tool, which was the subject of a paper in the latest issue of the Annals of Emergency Medicine.

He carried out the research in Liberia, while working with the International Medical Corps, a humanitarian organization, as it set up its first Ebola treatment center.

Levine, a professor at Brown University, wanted to solve the problem regarding Ebola, as it is difficult to diagnose Ebola because its symptoms are not unique and test results can take from one to three days to come in.

He said that there is a lag time between a suspected case and a confirmation of Ebola. During that time, the doctors are needed to make very difficult decisions. They have to decide whether to take the patients they think have Ebola and place them in an area with confirmed Ebola patients or not.

If the patients truly have Ebola then such a kind of move would help prevent the spread of the disease. But, at the same time, if it turns out that the patients weren't infected then it could put patients at the risk of getting Ebola.

Some world health organizations have recommended that physicians use an algorithm based on around 14 symptoms to determine whether a patient is 'suspect' or 'not suspect'.

On the basis of the data Levine reviewed, he came up with an 'Ebola Prediction Score', which according to him is more sophisticated. It is focused on only six factors, which are differently weighted. These include having had contact with a person with Ebola, diarrhea, lack of abdominal pain, difficulty swallowing, muscle pain, and loss of appetite.

Instead of resulting in an either-or outcome, the score provide a range of likelihood that a patient has Ebola, and further helps doctors in deciding how best to provide care.

Levine added that the diagnosis can all be done without touching the patient, which is important in triage to prevent the spread of the disease to health-care workers.

He is hopeful that further research, possibly in Sierra Leone, will support his diagnostic tool, leading to its use.